Neymar returns to PSG training ground and works out

Neymar returned to the Paris Saint-Germain training centre on Saturday and the club tweeted photos of the Brazilian star working out in the gym.

The pictures showed the world’s most expensive player grimacing as he lifted weights and working out on leg-strengthening equipment. One photo showed him walking barefoot in a sand-covered area used by players returning from injury.

Neymar flew back into France on Friday to rejoin the club after an operation on a broken foot bone in March.

He has made clear that his main target is to be fit to play for Brazil in the World Cup in Russia, which kicks off in 40 days.

The chances of Neymar adding to his 30 appearances this season for PSG, who paid 222 million euros ($263 million) for him last summer, seem slim.

Neymar is expected to watch from the stands at the Stade de France on Tuesday when PSG take on third-division Les Herbiers in the French Cup final. He should then take part in the league title celebration next Saturday when PSG entertain Rennes at the Parc des Princes.

After that, PSG have just one match, away to Caen on May 19.

Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar, who operated on Neymar, told Folha, a Sao Paulo newspaper, that the goal is to have the player “100 percent fit for the start of training camp” in Brazil on May 21.

Meanwhile, rumours over Neymar’s future continue to swirl in Spain with sports daily Marca saying on Sunday that the striker wants “to play with CR7”, that is Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.